Suggestion on how to fix...
#10
There's finally no chance of rain for this weekend so I plan on finally starting to refinish my door! Five years ago I stained it with Mohawk wiping wood stain and then applied a coat of oil based paint. The top of the door looks great, but the bottom felt rough so as a test I sanded the bottom right area with 220. How should I go about making the bottom match the top? Do I need to sand the bottom to raw wood then restain?
I hoping I don't have to sand the whole door to raw wood and start all over...
Here's pics I took at night, but hopefully you can still see the issue.


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#11
You said you applied a coat of oil based "paint" but I think you meant to say "varnish", correct?  Hopefully, you didn't sand through the stain, or did you?  If you didn't, and there is no peeled varnish, just sand it with 220 or 320, lightly, and apply another coat or two of varnish.  If you sanded through to raw wood then you could try restaining the areas where the raw wood shows.  You should be able to wipe the stain off the varnished areas, leaving the stain only on the raw wood.  Try it on a small section and see if it works.  If it does, then stain those areas and when that's dry you can varnish the whole door again.  If it doesn't work, or if there are peeled areas, then you will have to strip or sand those areas to bare wood and start over.  Hopefully, it won't come to that. 

What varnish did you use?  Five years is pretty good with no maintenance.  You might want to take preemptive action in the future to avoid a repeat.  

That is a beautiful door.  Good luck.

John
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#12
I guess I used oil based paint as a varnish... I followed these instructions 5 years ago:
http://www.askhlm.com/Articles/ArticleVi...inish.aspx
And you are right, I should have done better maintenance by applying a coat every 1-2 years.  Live and learn the hard way.

I should have gotten closer to the 2nd image, but the whiter areas is wood that is not stained - raw wood.  The bottom area was rough, so I sanded with 220 and the area became smooth, but some of the whiter areas became a little bigger.  I'll try sanding and staining but I'm afraid I might have to strip or sand to bare wood and start over.  If I do have to strip, what stripper is recommended?  I've only used Citristrip, but that was for a door that was painted.
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#13
Before you sand or strip try applying stain to that area. Wipe it off the surface and try recoating with the paint base.    If it turns out ok your good, if not proceed with stripping.    Normally a paint remover with MEK works the best.   Roly
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#14
Thanks!  You guys are giving me hope that maybe I won't have to strip and start all over!  

After I sanded I tried a baby test with the old stain I previously had used on it, but not sure if I didn't leave the stain on long enough or the stain was old because it seemed like it wasn't fully attaching to the exposed raw wood areas.  I'm going to buy some new stain after work today, give it a better cleaning and try again.  

And I apologize for the dark pics.  It was 10pm last night when I got the bright idea to test out sanding and staining.   
Smirk
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#15
Be sure to keep us updated on how it turns out.
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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#16
OK, now I've got it.  You used something like SW's A-100 deep base paint, which dries clear. 

If the stain isn't sticking to the raw wood it's probably because the pores are too small/sealed by the prior stain and clear coat even though it looks like raw wood.  If the new stain is no better, and I'm betting it won't be, then you'll have to sand or strip it off.  Personally, I favor stripping it off.  You can mask what you don't want the stripper to get onto with masking tape.  I use KleanStrip Premium stripper most of the time as it takes off most every finish/stain.  Follow the directions and wear PPE.  It would be best to take the door down so you can work on it laying flat.  You may have to do it twice to really get everything out of the pores.  Then sand to whatever grit you used last when you first finished the door before staining.    

John
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#17
The stain may not work but it wont hurt any thing if you are going to strip.   A gel stain may work better.   Roly
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#18
Well, jteneyck called it. You are exactly correct. I sanded the door some more, bought a new can of wiping wood stain and what looks like "raw wood" is sealed by prior stain & clear coat and does not let the new stain penetrate. What I thought would be a quick weekend project has now expanded and a trip to Lowe's to buy some plywood, saw horses and stripper is in my near future. (And I'm going to have to get creative with the plywood since I don't have a truck!)
Here's a pic of where I did a sample of stain after sanding. You can see the rectangle of new stain, but look in that rectangle and you'll see a lighter area that didn't absorb the new stain.


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